Can anything really be done to keep gas from goin bad in a few months???

I am guessing that heat speeds up this process? My '53 sat in my shop for about a month when it was 105-107 every day, and when I got it back together and test drove it last week it was pinging pretty much any time I accelerated.
I have never had that problem before, so I'm switching gas station brand from now on. Next time I drive I'm filling up with some Super and adding a can of Seafoam. (If I'd known gas could degrade so fast I'd have added the Seafoam BEFORE tearing out the rear axle!)

 

Haven't any good luck w/Stabil, gave away about 4 bottles I had.

Bill Hirsch has (had) some stuff that was a bit wicked. Formulated (he said) for either alky free, or alky-laced gas. Works, but crazes some plastics badly.

A friend found that gas from BP stations, which use Standard gas, didn't deteriorate over the winter, nor gum up his carbs.. When I tried it, the gas still smelled fresh in my bikes' tank, for a bit over a year later. Didn't help that previous gas buggered the carbs, so I get to clean them from that, but fuel in plastic containers, stored in metal cabinets outside, also smelled fresh, & lawn mowers, splitter, etc, ran well on the stuff. It's a bit spendy, but beats the heck outa doing carb builds every few months, or even every year.

Also, using a real good ashless 2-stoke oil, which has a very good fuel stabilizer in it, isn't a bad idea. I mix it light when going into the 4 strokes. Has worked well so far..

FWIW.

Marcus...

 

100LL AV GAS.......the only way. I always add a lubricant to it since it burnds lean. 1 year in any motor< 3 cranks and they purr.

 

I know this is an old thread, dragged up from 5 years ago, but I thought I' add my 2 cents from what happened to me in the last couple of days. I have several vehicles of several types. One is an O/T '68 Corvette, and another is a (very O/T) 1992 Yamaha V-Max4 snowmobile. The battery went dead on the Corvette 2 years ago when it had already sat for a year. The Yamaha had also been sitting for 3 years. A couple of weeks ago, I decided I had left both sit for too long, so I got them both going. I bought a battery for the Corvette, and after 15 seconds of cranking and a bunch of pumping, it started right up and ran fine, and had no VARNISH SMELL. The snowmobile was a different story; it was a bitch to start, and when it did, it stunk badly like varnish. Both units had been stored the same way and for the same period of time. When I store my vehicles, I fill them up and add the appropriate amount of Sea-Foam". I also make sure that they are full to the brim with gas, so the minimum amount of air (and therefore oxygen) is in the tank.

The difference in the two vehicles? The Corvette had non-oxygenated gas (no alcohhol) in it, while the snowmobile had regular 87 octane (with alcohol). I've read a lot of stuff on the internet, and when someone complains about gas going bad, it is almost invariably alcohol-laced gas. Next time I ride the snowmobile (if ever at my age), I will step up and get the non-oxygenated gas. I use the alcohol-free stuff in everything else old I own, and have never had a problem. My experience has convinced me. Luckily, here in Minnesota, the streetrodders have lobbied the legislature so that no-alcohol gas is easily available.

Also, to those of you who store your vehicles with a bit of gas (and therefore lots of air), I think you're asking for trouble. Common wisdom says to either store them full or run them dry; your choice.

 

Every fall, I fill up my boat and add Sta-Bil - every spring it starts right up. Both my local mechanic and the ones at the lake make the same recommendation.

 

Anyone else heard of using premium gas instead of regular, if your car is going to be sitting for a while. Premium gasoline is a "premium fuel" and it contains more or better cleaners, which is helpful in preventing varnish build up, if the vehicle is going to sitting for a while.

Also, be sure to get ethanol FREE gasoline if you can, when storing a vehicle!

 

I throw in a couple of gallons of Cam-II race gas and stabil. Works for me and smells good too.

 

I don't own any stock in either of these products ( ...other than buying an assload of it!!) but;
1) I buy BP regular for all my trucks,leafblowers,stumpgrinder,chainsaw, etc..
2) I use a product named "Startron" . 1- 8oz bottle treats 48 gallons.
3) I regularly service /tune/replace filters & plugs,etc

Very seldom do I have a fuel related problem....some of the equipment sits for weeks/months between usage ..
Just my $0.02.5 worth

 

I put the high test gasoline (Super+) in my restored vehicle as long as it's driven and parked. The premium gas at the pump (not the mid-grade or regular). If your're runnign regular gas out of the pump you might as well be pumping water in the engine. It runs like shit on regular (the cheapest) gasoline and it refuses to start after parked for a day. I put the high grade stuff in it and it is much happier, runs better, and starts right up. When i know I'm not driving it very often; I use Sta-Bil (red or Blue) in it. Sta-Bil makes an ethanol treatment & Fuel preservative all in one....it's red. Before I park the vehicle for winter; I make sure the gas tank is full and added with plenty of Sta-Bil; I let it run for a few minutes to get it through the system and then it's good to park for the 4 months. Come spring when it's time to take it back out; it starts good and there are no issues.

For our '50 plymouth we keep a stock of Sta-Bil Ethanol/Fuel treatment in the trunk. Everytime we fill up; we put the Sta-Bil in and it runs much better.

 

I've been using Stabil in my cars for years during the winter. Never had a problem starting after storing. Even through the winter I try and drive them on nice days every 3-4 weeks.

 

Let me give a testamonial here. I have a '61 Willys truck that I have been tinkering with for a while. It is small journal small block powered, I dumped 5 gallons in the tank 3 years ago and lit it off for the first time. I fired it off this summer on that 3 years old pump gas and finished burning it off. It stunk to high heavens, but it had no trouble starting or pulling itself around.

I think that too many of us have bought into this whole my gas will stop working thing. Last year when I would light it off it was not even skunky that was two year old panther piss.

OK now back to sweating it out.

 

your generator is good evidence Sta-bil works.

 

Thanks for the info especially re; Sta Bil ; I always wondered if it was any good.

4TTRUK

 

I always wonder4ed what the "active ingredient" in Sta-Bil is. If we could find out and buy it in bulk, I bet we'd save a lot of money. I use Sea-Foam because of cost and sit seems to work just as well. Those little cans of Sta-Bil add up quickly in cost.

Any chemists on the board?

 

I'm sure Stabil and Sea Foam are great products and do what they advertize. My research on the internet suggests there is no product that prevents phase separation in alcohol enhanced fuels. This seems to be the major drawback to long term fuel storage.